Unbeaten in the Champions League this season, Inter and Atletico Madrid go head-to-head tonight at the San Siro in the first leg of the two-legged Round of 16 clash.ย
Following Juventusโ recent dip in form and courtesy of a 4-0 victory over Salernitana, Inter opened a nine-point lead with a game in hand at the top of the Serie A table. Marcus Thuram, Denzel Dumfries, Lautaro Martinez and Marko Arnautovic participated in the goalscoring affair in their previous match as the Nerazzurri took one step towards the Scudetto. Simone Inzaghiโs men finished second in their Champions League group while being level on points with group winners Real Sociedad. Last seasonโs runners-up are in excellent form this campaign and they might again take a shot at glamour in the European stage.ย
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid approach this match on the back of a thumping 5-0 victory against Las Palmas. Marcos Llorente and Angel Correa slotted their respective braces, and Memphis Depayโs 87th-minute strike did the icing on the cake. Los Colchoneros suffered a setback in their Copa Del Rey journey as they went down to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the semi-final versus Athletic Bilbao. They are still in contention to progress to the final but the second leg in San Mames has made it a huge task. Diego Simeone will challenge his former Lazio teammate from the sidelines tonight as the encounter is set to be a heated one.ย
Here are the predicted line-ups for the match according to Sky Italia:
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard,ย De Vrij,ย Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro
Atletico Madrid (3-5-2): Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Koke, Saul, Reinildo; Llorente, Griezmann
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Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
